The Best Man (1964)

Director:

Franklin J. Schaffner

Writers:

Gore Vidal (play)
Gore Vidal (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 April 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Does The Best Man Always Get To The White House?

Plot:

The other party is in disarray. Five men vie for the party nomination for president. No one has a majority...

Plot Keywords:

Presidential Campaign | American Politics | Gay Interest | Bra | U.S. President

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	William Russell
Cliff Robertson	...	Joe Cantwell
Edie Adams	...	Mabel Cantwell
Margaret Leighton	...	Alice Russell
Shelley Berman	...	Sheldon Bascomb
Lee Tracy	...	President Art Hockstader
Ann Sothern	...	Sue Ellen Gamadge
Gene Raymond	...	Don Cantwell
Kevin McCarthy	...	Dick Jensen
Mahalia Jackson	...	Herself
Howard K. Smith	...	Himself
John Henry Faulk	...	Gov. T.T. Claypoole
Richard Arlen	...	Sen. Oscar Anderson
Penny Singleton	...	Mrs. Claypoole (scenes deleted)
George Kirgo	...	Speechwriter

Also Known As:

Gore Vidal's The Best Man (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved | Australia:PG | Finland:S | West Germany:16 (f)

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Millar/Turman Productions

Trivia:

One of the filming locations is the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. In 1968, Robert Kennedy was assassinated here during his campaign to win the Democratic Party's nomination for president.

Goofs:

Continuity: Several times, stock footage of actual political rally doesn't match scenes shot especially for movie. In several shots, no one is sitting in upper seats of auditorium that are nonetheless packed in newsreel footage of same alleged event.

Quotes:

Joe Cantwell: I don't understand you.
William Russell: I know you don't. Because you have no sense of responsibility towards anyone or anything. And that is a tragedy in a man, and a disaster in a president.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in It's My Party (1996)

An inside look at what goes on behind the scenes at political conventions

Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson are neck and neck for the Presidential nomination in "The Best Man," a 1964 film based on the play by Gore Vidal, who also wrote the screenplay. The film sports an outstanding cast including Margaret Leighton, Kevin McCarthy, Edie Adams, Lee Tracy, Edie Adams, Ann Sothern, Shelley Berman, Gene Raymond and Howard K. Smith.

Fonda is William Russell, a wealthy man of principle, though he cheats on his wife; Robertson is Joe Cantwell, who chases Communists, is a "man of the people," and plays dirty. At one point, each candidate has something on the other that could lose them the nomination. Nowadays, of course, these items would have come out long, long before the convention. "One word from me and Joe Cantwell is out of politics," Russell muses to his wife (Leighton). But can he say the word? This is a fascinating look at the machinations of getting a President nominated, and asks the question, can a man retain his integrity and still be a politician? Vidal's answer comes as not much of a surprise.

Fonda played presidents and politicians throughout his career. As Russell, he has reserve and dignity. He keeps you guessing. Robertson does a great job as a disloyal sleaze. Lee Tracy, who started in silents, is fantastic as the current, ill President, repeating the role he played on Broadway. The rest of the cast is uniformly good.

So much of what is stated in "The Best Man" remains true today. I doubt these races are handled much differently now. The more things change, the more they remain the same. Especially in politics.